myMEGusta

LDNY The Next Big Bite: The Media’s Influence on What We Eat, Drink & Crave in 2017

It’s not even Thanksgiving, but as we look forward to the onset of winter, we can also look ahead to 2017, and anticipate what the New Year will bring us.

To that end, Les Dames d’Escoffier New York again presented experts to prognosticate about food and drink trends in the year to come.

The audience was treated to commentary and a panel discussion moderated by Martha Teichner, correspondent for CBS News Sunday Morning. Participants included Carla Hall, Co-host of ABC’s The Chew and owner of Carla Hall’s Southern Kitchen restaurant; Kate Krader, Food Editor at Bloomberg Pursuits; and Talia Baiocchi, Editor-in-Chief of Punch, an online magazine about wine, spirits and cocktails.

The presentation kicked off with a robust discussion of what constitutes trends, versus fads, and how they are picked up, or not, as well as the importance of authenticity in today’s food world. They then discussed how they personally research and learn about trends, and the importance of journalists’ conveying and challenging authenticity in the food we eat and the restaurants we patronize.

Summing up the Top Ten Trends for 2017:

Authenticity and the existence of a story behind the food or drink matters

Fermented food and drink, such as the bases of the new cocktail movement

The drinks movement toward low alcohol beverages with abundant flavors

Hybrid cooking: elements of great food from everywhere coming together

Peripatetic chefs make previously unknown dining destinations now the places to dine

The focus on Terroir, a sense of the chefs’ heritage

Nostalgia and time travel, recreating the past

A simpler America, both in the food and in the ambience

Taking a page from major global cities as international flavors are incorporated into new dishes

To experience this lively conversation in delicious detail, visit Heritage Radio: http://heritageradionetwork.org/the-next-big-bite-2016/

To learn more about Les Dames d’Escoffier New York and to read the full press release about the event, go to www.LDNY.org .

And, come to www.LDEI.com to read about the umbrella organization, Les Dames d’Escoffier International (with 37 Chapters in four countries and over 2200 members).

Inside the Bottle: People, Brands, and Stories, by Arthur Shapiro

Here is a delicious book for anyone interested in a peek into the world of corporate intrigue (a la the late, lamented, Jos. E. Seagram and Sons) or a look forward to how the booze world is evolving thanks to a cadre of creative entrepreneurs, each with their own crafts and ingenuity.

Inside The Bottle: People, Brands, and Stories, by Arthur Shapiro (A/M Shapiro & Associates,LLC, 2016), started as a collection of this prolific writer’s blogs, worth subscribing to at www.boozebusiness.com . Having lived through many of the experiences described, myMEGusta had a few good laughs at some of the executive antics he describes during her Seagram days. This alone makes for a good read, whether as an insider who experienced the drama or someone who wants to peer into the tent. (The circus reference is not an accident.)

An even more colorful aspect of this very entertaining read is the collection of interviews with, and stories about, the movers and shakers who are shaping the future of the beverage business, some with their newly created gins or whiskeys, and others more involved with the sales and marketing end of the trade.

And, we get a glimpse into life on the Mongolian road as the author takes on a consulting assignment in Ulan Bator. Another chapter, Industry Legends – Thinking outside the bottle, talks about some of the famous, at least in the industry, names, such as Michel Roux (“the man who put Absolut on the map”), and lesser known, but even more fascinating characters, such as Dale DeGoff, aka King Cocktail.

Inside the Bottle: People, Brands, and Stories, by Arthur Shapiro, is available in paperback and Kindle editions on www.Amazon.com .